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Zatarain’s Certified Gluten-Free Rice Mixes

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 5 Comments

Did you know that Zatarain’s offers a wide variety of gluten-free products?  I just read that 75% of their rice mixes are labeled “gluten-free” and have been certified to be gluten-free by the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP).  Additionally, these gluten-free rice mixes also carry the NFCA (National Foundation for Celiac Awareness) symbol.  This is great news!

Here are the gluten-free mixes:

  • Mild Jambalaya Mix
  • Jambalaya Mix
  • Dirty Rice Mix
  • Dirty Brown Rice Mix
  • Spanish Rice
  • Yellow Rice
  • Reduced Sodium Jambalaya Mix
  • Reduced Sodium Dirty Rice Mix
  • Spicy Jambalaya Mix
  • Garden Vegetable Rice Mix
  • Garlic Butter Flavored Rice Mix
  • Wild Brown Rice Mix
  • Rice Pudding Mix
  • Jambalaya Mix with Cheese
  • Black-Eyed Peas & Rice
  • Caribbean Rice Mix

Make sure to check out Zatarain’s gluten-free recipe box, which shares new ways to jazz up your meals using their gluten-free mixes.  We used to use Zatarain’s Dirty Rice mix long before we started the gluten-free diet.  Believe it or not, that was one of the only things my picky little Hannah would eat as a 1-year-old!  She loved that stuff!  Coincidentally, she won’t eat it now.  After browsing through the recipes, the Carnival Jambalaya caught my eye.  Check it out below:

Carinval Jambalaya

*Recipe courtesy of Zatarain’s

Makes 12 (1-cup) servings.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 5 cups water
  • 1/4 cup oil (optional)
  • 2 packages ZATARAIN’S® Jambalaya Mix, Original
  • 1 pound gluten-free boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1 pound gluten-free smoked sausage, sliced 1/4-inch thick
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onions (optional)

Directions

1. Bring water and oil to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in Rice Mixes, chicken, and sausage; return to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until rice is tender.

2. Remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions before serving.

Tips

Variation: Two cups of cubed cooked ham and/or 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halved crosswise, may be added to the rice mixture after 10 minutes of cooking time. Continue as directed.

While not everyone can eat or chooses to eat processed foods, it is nice that many mainstream companies are taking notice of the gluten-free diet, making strides in labeling their products, and helping to spread awareness about Celiac Disease.  Zatarain’s has a page that can be viewed here about Celiac Disease & the gluten-free diet.  Have you tried any of Zatarain’s rice mixes? Do you have a favorite?  **As always, please make sure to read the label of any product you purchase.  Some boxes that are older may still contain gluten.  The gluten-free boxes will be clearly marked.

Losing Weight on the Gluten-Free Diet

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

We all know that the gluten-free diet is not a weight loss fad diet regardless of what some people in the media report. But I’ve figured out that one can lose weight while on the diet. Some of us just have to greatly limit our intake of gluten-free replacement items in order to do it. For instance, having ¼ of a bagel (instead of half of one) works well for me. Having a cookie instead of four is better and skipping gluten-free crackers with soup is a good idea.

With so many fantastic gluten-free dinner rolls available now, it’s really hard to pass on them and the same goes for fluffy gluten-free muffins at breakfast or brunch. One gluten-free specialty item that greatly aids in weight loss is (certified gluten-free) oats. That’s because they, like regular oats, are full of fiber which is a great aid when trying to drop extra pounds. Making oatmeal raisin cookies with oats might not be the best way to consume oats mind you. At least, not while you’re paying attention to the calories you’re taking in. I try to have oatmeal fairly often.

It’s possible to eat gluten-free replacement items as a regular part of a normal, healthy diet and maintain one’s weight, but the same can’t be said for some of us when working to shed unwanted pounds. The truth is that many delicious replacement food items out there are often times higher in calories, fat, and sugar than the items they were meant to replace. On that fact, I cannot disagree with Dr. Oz.

Some things I’ve found useful personally, besides greatly limiting gluten-free bread, goodies, and the like, are obvious things. Including plenty of the following things in my diet on a regular basis has really helped me a lot lately.

  • Vegetables
  • Fresh fruit
  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Beans
  • Fish

As you can see, there’s no rocket science to it. The truth is that eating naturally gluten-free is something that can help most anyone whether they can eat gluten or not. That’s why the Atkins plan works – carbs are the problem causing some of us to put on extra weight. While I don’t plan to greatly limit my intake of carbs forever, I will be paying more attention to how many replacement items I take in going forward. So, as thrilled as I am to have discovered hoards of fabulous gluten-free replacement foods, I have to watch how much I enjoy such things from now on.

Review: Wolfgang Puck Gluten-Free Soups

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Soup is such a comforting food. I don’t eat soup often, but will often save it for those days when I feel like I need a hug or comforting in some way.  It is unfortunate that a lot of prepared/canned soups have gluten in them as a thickener.  Wolfgang Puck offers several varieties that are free of gluten.  I have to be honest that I was not aware of this until I was contacted to see if I would be interested in reviewing a few of the gluten-free soups.  I was eager to see how they tasted, as I have tried a variety of other gluten-free soups on the market.

Wolfgang Puck is going to be changing several of the soups & stock recipes over the next few months to be gluten-free and that claim will be stated on the product so that it is simple to know which of the products are gluten-free.  The broths have always been gluten-free, though they will now also carry the “gluten-free” claim on the label.  The following products are currently gluten-free:

  • All organic broths – beef, free range chicken & vegetable
  • All Natural Roasted Chicken Stock
  • Free Range Chicken with White & Wild Rice Soup
  • Signature Tortilla Soup
  • Tomato Basil Bisque
  • Black Bean Soup
  • Hearty Vegetable Lentil Soup

All of the soups are certified USDA organic and are made with the finest all natural ingredients.  I was curious what precautions  are taken to ensure the gluten-free products are safe, so I checked out the Soup FAQ.  This is what I found:

What is the process that Wolfgang Puck uses to ensure products are gluten-free?

We analyze gluten-free products to ensure compliance with our strict gluten-free standards at the time of initial production. We perform ongoing testing on finished products on a frequency of at least once every six months to assure continued compliance with our gluten-free policy.

Why are only some of the Wolfgang Puck products gluten-free?

Wolfgang Puck’s primary concern is the safety of our consumers. All of our recipes are hand crafted, which explains why some products contain food starches and others do not. Many of our products share manufacturing processes and equipment with gluten containing ingredients and products. For this reason, Wolfgang Puck has decided not to label gluten-free on products where we could not ensure compliance with our strict gluten-free standards.

I was able to sample the Tomato Basil Bisque and the Free Range Chicken with White & Wild Rice soups.  Both were outstanding!  If I was served these and didn’t know that they came from a can, I would have never been able to guess that they had.  They were both perfectly seasoned and not overly salty.  One of my pet peeves about canned soups is that if I can find a gluten-free version, they are often too salty or high in sodium for my liking.  The chicken soup was full of chunks of chicken and a good amount of rice in a broth that really did taste like it had been homemade.  The bisque was perfectly thickened and had chunks of tomato throughout.  My favorite way to eat soup is with a small salad & a toasted Udi’s gluten-free Bagel spread with avocado & sea salt.  Heaven on a day when I need some comfort.

Wolfgang Puck Soups are available to purchase online at Amazon or Buy The Case. Most grocery stores across the U.S. should also be carrying the soups. If not, make sure to ask them to carry your favorite variety.  Click here for a $1.00 off coupon for Wolfgang Puck Soups.

Review: Gluten-Free Hamburger Helper

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 2 Comments

When I found the gluten-free version of Asian Helper Chicken Fried Rice from Betty Crocker at Publix last year, I was delighted!  It wasn’t until the next day that I realized the product contained MSG which is gluten-free, but doesn’t agree with me. I returned the product the next time I went to Publix.

Always a gluten-free sleuth, I decided to pick up the gluten-free version of Hamburger Helper Cheesy Hashbrowns to read the ingredients about a month ago. Imagine my excitement to not find the term MSG or words monosodium glutamate in the ingredients! I double and triple checked the label before throwing the box into my cart.

We’ve now had the gluten-free Cheesy Hashbrowns twice and both times I used ground turkey to make this one dish meal. Like the regular Hamburger Helper meals, it’s easy to prepare. Just brown the meat, add water and the potatoes and eventually, the sauce mixture. What I enjoyed about the dish was the easy preparation and taste. I love meat, potatoes and cheese so it would be hard for me not to appreciate something like Cheesy Hashbrowns with ground turkey.

What it took me a moment to get over was the color of the cheese sauce. You mix a dry powder (that looks like the cheese powder in Kraft mac-n-cheese) with milk and when everything is combined, the color is bright orange. Of course, when the sauce is mixed into the rest of the dish, it’s not bright orange at all. In fact, it’s really not orange at all.

The meal is really good though it’s kind of salty and I’m a salt freak. To negate the overly salty flavor, cut part of a raw potato up and place it in the pot when cooking. This is a Martha Stewart trick that works beautifully. If you don’t have a potato, you can reduce the amount of the sauce powder you use when you make the sauce.

Now that I’ve tried the gluten-free Hamburger Helper, I really wish the Asian Helper meals were also free of MSG. Even though I order chicken fried rice at our favorite Chinese place several times a month, I’d like the option of having a mix to use every once in a while. The Hamburger Helper Cheesy Hashbrowns meal kit is really tasty, easy to prepare and it’s an excellent bargain as well!

*Look for gluten-free Hamburger Helper and Asian Helper at your local grocery store. They are stocked with the regular Hamburger Helper mixes at Publix stores.

Gluten-Free and Allergen Menus

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

As someone who has always loved dining out and re-learned how to do it once living gluten-free, I’m always interested in supporting a new gluten-free menu. However, it seems that several large restaurant companies are now creating allergen menus. While that’s great news if you have true allergies, many of the new menus are not that helpful when it comes to gluten.

Some of the new menus only list the major allergens so we’re out of luck when trying to decipher what we can eat. Even when gluten is noted, it’s hard for me to get excited about a menu that offers me a baked potato and a salad without dressing on it. I simply don’t understand (and never will) why anyone would pay good money for a bland meal when they could eat more interesting and tasty food at home and save money in the process.

Of course, there are times when you can’t choose the restaurant like when you’re attending a family event and no one asks you to give suggestions about safe places that others might enjoy. High school or college graduation parties need to be hosted at a place the graduate likes to dine at. And funerals are the last place you can suggest that you want everyone to eat somewhere safe for you. For such events, we have to be nice and figure out the best plan of action. That might include eating beforehand or eating our own snacks at the event. Otherwise, I’m not spending good money to dine out at a place just because they have an allergen menu when there is nothing worth ordering on it.

We need to keep in mind that an allergen menu is not an indication that companies want allergic patrons to eat there. It’s a way for them to advise customers which items contain certain allergens and then it’s up to potential customers to decide if they want to risk dining there.

Some people who work at several locations or places that recently created allergen menus have no idea that said menus exist. We all know we have to advocate for ourselves when dining out and this is especially true when it comes to eating at places that don’t bother to do any allergen or food intolerance training for staff members or managers.

Even when examining restaurants with gluten-free menus, not all locations are created the same. Some do a fabulous job serving gluten-free patrons while others haven’t got a clue what gluten even is. I had read rave gluten-free reviews about a low-end burger joint that’s popular in the Midwest and Canada so I was tickled when opened up here a few years ago.

We went to eat there about a month after the location opened. After clearly explaining my needs and order, I was brought a burger that a bun had been pulled off of. The bread remnants were clearly visible and by the time my burger was re-made, my husband was long finished with his meal. To make matters worse, the manager offered me a coupon for my troubles. It was a coupon for fried, battered onion rings and nothing else. I explained that I could not have onion rings (and why) and she couldn’t do anything but apologize and walk away.

Patronizing places with gluten-free or allergen menus in no way ensures your needs with be taken care of properly. The location near you might know a lot or very little. As gluten-free patrons, it is our responsibility to determine which places get it and which ones we need to leave before ordering. Asking the right questions is key unless you’re at a gluten-free restaurant or are a regular customer at a place that has always served you safely.

*If you missed Kim Bouldin’s recent post about a horrible situation regarding gluten-free dining, you can read it here.